Wawona Hotel Dining Room

Scheduled for closure in Dec 2024 for much needed repairs and (hopefully) upgrades. We think the staff at the restaurant has been attentative and kind. The coffee is organic and enjoyable. The food quality can use some attention. It'll be great to at least bring it to the same level as that of Yosemite Lodge's Mountain Room. We had mixed experience with the food itself. For example, while very excited that the Trout was from local area (Steelhead), it clearly had an altered taste from being frozen too long.The Pot Roast was good so was the New York Steak. Meat was tender and flavorful.Vegetarian Tagine was out the last 2 nights. The vegetables accompanying the Trout was sliced yellow squash. Pretty soggy and oily. Honestly, could use some TLC. Maybe some herbs? And maybe some other vegetables too? Imagine a slice of Trout with taste of freezer burn and then half the plate with soggy sliced bland squash.Lunch menu could use some additional options. Potatoes served with various dishes were good and very crispy however.Omelets were good.Staff work hard and are friendly.Thank you to the servers and hostess.

My cousin and I stopped by the Wawona Hotel Dining Room for dinner last night after hiking up to Wawona Point.Since the Wawona Hotel is going to be closed soon (indefinitely) for repairs, we wanted to experience a meal here while we still had the chance.We arrived just before 6pm, and, since they weren't overbooked with reservations at that time, we were able to be seated immediately.We had hoped to dine on the patio, but that was not an option at this time. Our server was as cool and polite as he was clearly inexperienced. I heard the table behind me order a glass of Reisling, and he said, "The white one, right?"Like most restaurants in Yosemite, the menu was rather small and limited. There wasn't much to choose from, frankly. The prices were ridiculous for country club lunch quality food. But it was still an enjoyable experience.My cousin ordered a burger, plain, with fries, with ranch and barbecue sauce on the side. I ordered a wedge salad.We ended up sharing, and I ate about a third of my cousin's burger. I was surprised how good it tasted. Even though it was definitely on the pricier side at $26 before add ons, the burger was great.My wedge salad was pretty good, but, I wish I has asked for the dressing on the side. It was drenched in so much blue cheese dressing that I started to feel really full after eating only about half of the salad.I took the leftovers home, but, unfortunately, they were bad by the next day.The ambiance was interesting. I can't say it was great, since everything was under repair, and we were surrounded by so much scaffolding. But we liked the Yosemite themed lampshades and lanterns, and enjoyed walking around the property after our meal.Overall not a bad experience. I would definitely want to eat here again in the future, after the remodel, whenever that may be.

Excellent food and service. One ordered a hamburger and the other a salad and bruschetta that were both surprisingly large! We shared a DIVINE berry cobbler for dessert. All was delicious and the tranquil, historic atmosphere was perfect. *Note: the facility will close for repairs 12/2/24. A reopening has not been announced yet.

Stopped in for a cold beer and some snacks. Beautiful spot to enjoy a Fall day. Had a 16 ounce IPA from a local brewery and it was only $3.50 per pint. Was expecting some price-gouging and was pleasantly surprised for a National Park. 'Buddha', the attendant at the golf club house was very engaging and pleasant to deal with. Met a custodian walking the grounds who was also very friendly. Nice to meet people who are working and love their jobs/environment. As someone else mentioned, the property is undergoing a major facelift; so scaffolding and workers present. Will return and enjoy it in its restored state.

We were at YNP for the weekend and decided to eat here one evening. Place was spacious and was not busy (maybe because of BBQ they had outside). We were seated right away and the waiter was kind enough to give us time to order food and got us chilled water right away. Staff were super friendly and food came in about right time. This place is historic and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Basically it has a classic Victorian era design. Knowing we are in a National Park, food was decent. We had: Salmon: Salmon was cooked well and risotto was cheesy and creamy in a good way (this is not an Italian restaurant so don't expect food as if you are in Milan). I wish the seasonal vegetables they mentioned in menu was more than just two broccoli stems. Pot Roast: Meat was delicious and super soft! Sauce was excellent and it went very well with mashed potatoes. Overall it was well prepared. Also, this place have no air conditioning - so it was warm being seated inside during 4th of July weekend. I recommend to check this place out if you are in the area.

The dining room at the Wawona Hotel is very popular, but I was fortunate to be able to enjoy having lunch there on a weekday in November. It was not crowded at all. I ordered the hamburger and fries which goes for $15. That's pretty reasonable given that you are at a nice hotel inside a national park. The food was delicous and I found the service to be attentive and friendly. The dining room has an open feeling because they have big picture windows to look out at the scenery. It was a real pleasure to enjoy a meal there.

The veggie entree was very good (2 / 5 Green Stars)Was overall very happy with staying at the Wawona Hotel and glad I didn't take the nitpickers too seriously. The dining room is a bit fusty but it's a historic hotel (Theodore Roosevelt visited!) so I think it's best to make allowances. After sitting down it felt welcoming, especially thanks to our friendly waiter. We really liked the cheddar biscuits (a bargain at $4), the baked goat cheese bruschetta ($13) was tasty, and I liked the tofu dish a lot. The chef/cooks are skilled with veggies so it's a pity there aren't more veggie entrees. We got a lovely cheesecake at the end with birthday greetings piped onto the plate. Recommended dish: Crispy Tofu & Sweet Potatoes with Tamari-Honey Glaze, Pickled Scallion, Hot Sesame Oil, Salted Peanuts ($22).I'm giving the Wawona Dining Room 3 out of 5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact, for these reasons:* Three of the appetizers are vegetarian but only one entrée (the tofu dish). * Two of the five entrees use beef as the protein (and lamb is served as an appetizer). This is the main area where the Wawona could improve on sustainability - add another veggie entre and cut one of the beef / lamb dishes. Beef and lamb have much larger carbon footprints than other animal products. * Could do a much better job at communicating on ingredients sources. Even though the menu has abbreviations on the menu key for sustainable (S) and organic (O), none of the dishes are listed as such. It would be accurate to label the tofu dish as sustainable since it's estimated to have a carbon footprint about 98% lower than beef!

Awful food and slooow .. very slooooow service. Hot inside too. Too bad there no other choices nearby.

The Wawona will be missed now that it will be closed for some number of years (5? 7? who knows). The dining room (and hotel lounge with very special Tom Bopp's piano-vocal music) is enjoyable, not fancy but comfortable Victorian in style. The food was kind of uneven but never bad for us, with some stuff quite good and other stuff not so much. All perfectly edible to fuel Yosemite journeys. The helpful, witty, and smart wait staff guided us through the options with realistic appraisals. They are who I may miss most with the closing of the hotel. I hope they fix up the hotel as needed but do not ruin it or turn it into another high-priced Ahwahnee or over-priced but bland Yosemite Lodge. The Wawona was unique. Take inspiration from the work done on Notre Dame Cathedral to just restore what it was.

The customer service was excellent! Karen's inviting smile and our waiters awesome attentiveness made our experience nice. Our steaks were cooked just right ; mashed potatoes were warm and the broccoli was crispy and fresh. We will definitely be back. ~Cheers to next year! Again, thank you for making our anniversary weekend beautiful.